Personal Current Rankings

[Keith]

1) Archer & Armstrong
2) Bloodshot
3) Harbinger
4) Shadowman
5) X-O

... and I feel really bad with Shadowman and X-O down at that part of the list, because I do enjoy the heck out of them! This is much different than if you were asking to rank some items from DC, where the ones at the bottom of the list utlimately would mean they ain't getting read!

[blujay]

1. X-O Manowar
2. Shadowman (A slow build but the anticipation is killing me)
3. Harbinger & Bloodshot
4. Archer & Armstrong (the only VH3 version that I don't think has yet surpassed VH1)

My opinion of A&A has increased as of last issue, but I was at the almost dropping point (although I've been loving the EW arc)

[Paradigm38]

1. Rai
2. Solar

er.... wait a minute!

Back to reality...

1. Harbinger/XO a tie really
2. Shadowman
3. A&A (though the first arc was THE best written... so far)

The whole EW thing is washy yet, used to be one of my favorite titles back when. Not seeing a book unless he is fleshed more (remember everyone thinking Ninjak wouldn't be good?)

PSST!.... Ninjak, book, now!

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

1. Rai
2. Solar

er.... wait a minute!

Back to reality...

1. Harbinger/XO a tie really
2. Shadowman
3. A&A (though the first arc was THE best written... so far)

The whole EW thing is washy yet, used to be one of my favorite titles back when. Not seeing a book unless he is fleshed more (remember everyone thinking Ninjak wouldn't be good?)

PSST!.... Ninjak, book, now!

Bloodshot didn't even make the list!? hah!
And is your board name from Irredeemable?

[Stringer]

Shadowman
Harbinger
Archer & Armstrong
Bloodshot/X-O Manowar


X-O used to be my favorite Valiant book, unfortunately I've lost some interest in it the past few issues.

[jmatt]

I want to like Shadowman more since he was my favorite VH1 character but I thought the first arc was kinda meh. Plus it ranks low since it has the fewest issues for me to judge it.

Yeah, well that's the catch. Shadowman has only four issues to judge it by while the others have so many more. To early to tell, which is why I'll give it many more months to stretch its legs.

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

I want to like Shadowman more since he was my favorite VH1 character but I thought the first arc was kinda meh. Plus it ranks low since it has the fewest issues for me to judge it.

Yeah, well that's the catch. Shadowman has only four issues to judge it by while the others have so many more. To early to tell, which is why I'll give it many more months to stretch its legs.

I respectfully disagree. Had X-O and Harbinger not had stellar first 4 issues, Valiant's relaunch would have been a failure. In that respect, I could tell within the first 4 issues if I liked it or not. Same with A&A and Bloodshot.
How long do you give a comic? I guess I'm the kind of guy that turns off a movie if I'm not liking it. However, I'm not saying I don't enjoy Shadowman, I just don't think it's at the top of the list.

[Elveen]

Currently mine (after reading all issues )

Harby (by a sliv over)
X-O
Bloodshot (by a sliv over)
A&A
Shadowman

[caniac]

X-O Manowar
Harbinger
Shadowman / Archer & Armstrong
Bloodshot

[tetrisdork]

I want to like Shadowman more since he was my favorite VH1 character but I thought the first arc was kinda meh. Plus it ranks low since it has the fewest issues for me to judge it.

Yeah, well that's the catch. Shadowman has only four issues to judge it by while the others have so many more. To early to tell, which is why I'll give it many more months to stretch its legs.

I respectfully disagree. Had X-O and Harbinger not had stellar first 4 issues, Valiant's relaunch would have been a failure. In that respect, I could tell within the first 4 issues if I liked it or not. Same with A&A and Bloodshot.
How long do you give a comic? I guess I'm the kind of guy that turns off a movie if I'm not liking it. However, I'm not saying I don't enjoy Shadowman, I just don't think it's at the top of the list.

Trying to remember, but how long I gave books a chance change from comic-to-comic. I did give the Summer of Valiant books their entire arcs and moved A&A to "trade-wait" status and kept Bloodshot due to potential inter-connection w/ Harbinger. And that's despite me liking A&A #4 a lot.

[jmatt]

How long do you give a comic?

I think you have to give a new comic some time so the creators can work out the kinks and give us a full picture of where it's headed and who all the characters are. Plus they respond to fan feedback so they can give the audience more of what it likes.

Look at TV shows like Seinfeld or The Odd Couple. The characters are a lot better in the second season than they were in the first, plus they honed the set by changing the apartments/living arrangements, etc.

And if you want a comic book example, look at the original Avengers. In issue #1 (I am presently rereading my nearly full run ) Iron Man looks prehistoric, Hulk is a clown (literally) juggling elephants, Don Blake still taps his cane to become Thor and Ant-Man is just ridiculous. A few issues later, Cap is re-introduced, Iron Man looks a lot like he does today, Henry Pym (Ant-Man) is now Giant-Man, etc etc.

I know Justin reads these boards and has seen my critique. And I know that he knows it's not personal; I'm just telling him, as a fan, what I'd like to see more of. I want to see him and Shadowman be a wild success.

So ya give it a good nine months, maybe a full year. If it's still not your cup of tea at least you gave it a chance.

[FormerReader]

I want to like Shadowman more since he was my favorite VH1 character but I thought the first arc was kinda meh. Plus it ranks low since it has the fewest issues for me to judge it.

Yeah, well that's the catch. Shadowman has only four issues to judge it by while the others have so many more. To early to tell, which is why I'll give it many more months to stretch its legs.

I respectfully disagree. Had X-O and Harbinger not had stellar first 4 issues, Valiant's relaunch would have been a failure. In that respect, I could tell within the first 4 issues if I liked it or not. Same with A&A and Bloodshot.
How long do you give a comic? I guess I'm the kind of guy that turns off a movie if I'm not liking it. However, I'm not saying I don't enjoy Shadowman, I just don't think it's at the top of the list.

I think you need to give any title more than 4 issues. The approach to each of the first four arcs have varied widely, but each has it's strong points. I will give them at least a year to see how they develop. If the title is still lacking after one year welll... I will probably still buy them. Who am I kidding. I want them all to succeed.

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

I want to like Shadowman more since he was my favorite VH1 character but I thought the first arc was kinda meh. Plus it ranks low since it has the fewest issues for me to judge it.

Yeah, well that's the catch. Shadowman has only four issues to judge it by while the others have so many more. To early to tell, which is why I'll give it many more months to stretch its legs.

I respectfully disagree. Had X-O and Harbinger not had stellar first 4 issues, Valiant's relaunch would have been a failure. In that respect, I could tell within the first 4 issues if I liked it or not. Same with A&A and Bloodshot.
How long do you give a comic? I guess I'm the kind of guy that turns off a movie if I'm not liking it. However, I'm not saying I don't enjoy Shadowman, I just don't think it's at the top of the list.

I think you need to give any title more than 4 issues. The approach to each of the first four arcs have varied widely, but each has it's strong points. I will give them at least a year to see how they develop. If the title is still lacking after one year welll... I will probably still buy them. Who am I kidding. I want them all to succeed.

I want them all to succeed too! Don't get me wrong, I have such a special place in my heart for all these characters. And who am I kidding, I'll never drop the book! I love the art! That is some of the best Valiant is putting out. But the story isn't really speaking to me. I was a huge fan of the VH1 Shadowman, and although all the VEI characters are making a departure from their original counterparts, I'm just not connecting to this one very much. I don't "get" it. But I want to!

[dornwolf]

My list...

1.X-O
2. Shadowman
3. Bloodshot
4. Archer and Armstrong
5. Harbinger

[BugsySig]

I want to like Shadowman more since he was my favorite VH1 character but I thought the first arc was kinda meh. Plus it ranks low since it has the fewest issues for me to judge it.

Yeah, well that's the catch. Shadowman has only four issues to judge it by while the others have so many more. To early to tell, which is why I'll give it many more months to stretch its legs.

I respectfully disagree. Had X-O and Harbinger not had stellar first 4 issues, Valiant's relaunch would have been a failure. In that respect, I could tell within the first 4 issues if I liked it or not. Same with A&A and Bloodshot.
How long do you give a comic? I guess I'm the kind of guy that turns off a movie if I'm not liking it. However, I'm not saying I don't enjoy Shadowman, I just don't think it's at the top of the list.

I was quite vocal about not loving the first XO arc and had it last on my list after issue 4. If I wasn't a huge VALIANT fan, or I wasn't intrigued by the second arc with Ninjak, I probably would have dropped that book. Now it's tied as my second favorite with A&A. I have the same high hopes for Shadowman.

So how long do you give a book? It really depends. I think 3 arcs (usually about a year) is probably best. That is when most books either hit their stride or start to become stale. Sometimes I take other factors into account. With many New 52 books, even if I liked them, it became clear early on which were on the publisher's chopping block. With several of those I chose to cut my losses early before a bad wrap up or creative change. Then there are the books you can tell with after one issue.

[SJS4]

Here is my order from favorite to least favorite:

1. X-O Manowar
2. Bloodshot
3. Harbinger
4. Archer & Armstrong
5. Shadowman

For me, Bloodshot is very close to X-O at the top. A&A has improved IMHO in the last two issues enough that it is comfortably ahead of Shadowman, but still well behind Harbinger.

X-O/Bloodshot/Harbinger are also my three favorite current comics overall. A&A is behind some of the other comics I collect (Hellboy, BPRD, Saga, The Massive).

[Ramses818]

1. X O
2. Harbinger
3. Archer & Armstrong
4. Shadowman
5. Bloodshot

While I agree Lechusas action book it doesn't really appeal to me very much so far. Shadow man and Archard Armstrong could almost be interchangeable I just gave the advantage to archer because it came out first. I have a little more history with it. XO and harbinger still top my list as they are excellent books. I enjoyed reading all of them Especially because I never know who's going to pop up in the book... Hint Hint wink wink RAI?! Rai ,Rai and more Rai! Get the hint yet? Lol

[lorddunlow]

1. X O
2. Harbinger
3. Archer & Armstrong
4. Shadowman
5. Bloodshot

While I agree Lechusas action book it doesn't really appeal to me very much so far. Shadow man and Archard Armstrong could almost be interchangeable I just gave the advantage to archer because it came out first. I have a little more history with it. XO and harbinger still top my list as they are excellent books. I enjoyed reading all of them Especially because I never know who's going to pop up in the book... Hint Hint wink wink RAI?! Rai ,Rai and more Rai! Get the hint yet? Lol

Boy, did autocorrect go crazy on this post!

[Xtianhardy]

My rankings of the Valiant titles have really gone up and down, so much so that I've dropped a couple titles from my pull list (Bloodshot, X-O Manowar) only to decide to keep reading after the fact because I realized what I was missing and that my lack of enjoyment of some of the titles had more to do with my own impatience as a reader.

Currently, my ranking of the titles is as follows:

1) Harbinger - the clear winner. My favorite monthly ongoing comic book. Accept no substitutes.

2) Archer & Armstrong - I'm really enjoying this story as it progresses month-to-month, and I'm starting to really enjoy reading about these characters. I really hope Eternal Warrior and Kay McHenry stick around this book for a while longer before branching out into an EW solo book.

3) X-O Manowar - The art on this title is superb but the pacing threw me off the book for a couple of months. I think I'm going to start reading it in trades rather than single issues because I find this book one of the least satisfying Valiant comics to read in single issues.

4) Bloodshot - This would be higher on my list than X-O if not for the art, which I've found really inconsistent. Sometimes this book is A+ but occasionally the art takes it all the way down to a B- for me.

5) Shadowman - It's hard to tell how much I'll be enjoying this series a year from now, but the arc definitely ended better than it began so that makes me hopeful that this series will continue to improve.

[depluto]

1. Harbinger. Been that way from the start, probably won't change.
2. Bloodshot. Although this could switch with 3 just about any month.
3. Archer and Armstrong. Still have high hopes for the direction here.
4. X-O Manowar. Really like the book, just like the other stuff better.
5. Shadowman. Looks great, just not digging it that much yet.

[Big Red]

1. X-O (It's really a toss up with Harbinger, but if I was forced to choose, I'd pick X-O.)
2. Harbinger
3. Bloodshot
4. A & A
5. Shadowman

X-O/Bloodshot/Harbinger are also my three favorite current comics overall.

Agreed.

[Bl00dsh0t]

Bloodshot
Shadowman
X-O (maily due to waiting for PLANET DEATH in TPB)
Harbinger (only have #0 and will pick up HARBINGER WARS)
A&A (only title that doesnt interest me yet)

btw I'm new to Valiant (since Bloodshot #1, last year (2012)). Have both Bloodshot and Shadowman on my pull-list with X-O to resume post PLANET DEATH - I just think that arc will look great as a collected edition.

[Daniel Jackson]

Bloodshot
Shadowman
X-O (maily due to waiting for PLANET DEATH in TPB)
Harbinger (only have #0 and will pick up HARBINGER WARS)
A&A (only title that doesnt interest me yet)

btw I'm new to Valiant (since Bloodshot #1, last year (2012)). Have both Bloodshot and Shadowman on my pull-list with X-O to resume post PLANET DEATH - I just think that arc will look great as a collected edition.

Welcome to the board.

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

Bloodshot
Shadowman
X-O (maily due to waiting for PLANET DEATH in TPB)
Harbinger (only have #0 and will pick up HARBINGER WARS)
A&A (only title that doesnt interest me yet)

btw I'm new to Valiant (since Bloodshot #1, last year (2012)). Have both Bloodshot and Shadowman on my pull-list with X-O to resume post PLANET DEATH - I just think that arc will look great as a collected edition.

Cannot recommend enough that you read Harbinger! There is a $10 trade for the first 4 issues, but you should read all 9. Best series Valiant has right now!

[caniac]

I'd like to make some changes:

1: X-O Manowar
1A: Harbinger...best book of VEI

2: Bloodshot
2A: Archer & Armstrong
2B: Shadowman

The last three are constantly changing....